Moped rider sues city over bike track berms
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Travis Iseke claims in October, 2014, he left his apartment on his moped. It was around 3:40 in the morning when he pulled into the left lane on South King Street.
"I was trying to merge right and boom!" he said.
Iseke, 44, claims he ran into a berm the city installed for its protected bike lane. He said he was thrown from his moped, suffered a concussion and fractured his clavicle and spine. Now he's suing the city.
"They put the curb up. They didn't paint it white or yellow. They just kept it black so it blended in with the color of the asphalt," attorney Richard Turbin said.
"I have some nerve damage," Iseke said. "I'm a right-handed person. I'm a waiter so I use my right hand all the time."
Turbin said a Federal Highway Traffic Administration advisory recommends not using berms for protected bike tracks.
But a city spokesperson says the U.S. Transportation Department recommends berms and they passed a walk through audit of the King Street lane by the FHTA. The city's studying other methods for future lanes. The berms along the bicycle track were eventually painted white.
"It's been a rough few months," Iseke said.
He was out of work three months recuperating from his accident. Now he wants the city to pay for his pain.
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